It's worth it to ask

Thanks so much to all of you who have graciously offered suggestions and ideas on hotels and activities for my upcoming Philadelphia family trip. Your input has been so helpful.

Speaking of input, wow, the Internet has done wonders for being able to get honest-to-goodness, real-life information.

As a consumer, I always want to make the right choice-- especially when it comes to big purchases.

For instance, I want this trip that we're taking to Philadelphia to be a pleasant one. Who better to ask advice, than those who live in Philly or who have vacationed in Philly?

We're currently in the market for buying a new camera. My husband, Joe, has been diligently researching high speed cameras that have the ability to take great shots, even in low light. While we can learn about the features from the camera companies, who better to ask advice than people who have purchased the cameras we're looking into buying?

What so many of us are always looking for is 'information.'

Yes, there is lots of information to sift through on the Internet, but I feel that since it's come along, with diligent research, we've been able to come up with good answers for many of our purchases.

It's worth it to ask around, rather than just taking your chances.

Comments

[Angela Gia Moldovsky]

Hey Maria,
I am originally from Philadelphia and I have lived in the Philadelphia suburbs as well.
So If you would like I can recommend you some places of interest. Of course go downtown to see the Liberty Bell as well as Ben Franklin's House. These as well as the Philadelphia Museum of Art are free. Bucks County is another area that you might want to visit. In my next email I will send you some links or if you would rather, just google Bucks County. Also the BEST cheese steak place is not Pat's or Geno's but Jim's Steaks.

[Jai]

Hi Maria

First - just want to say I love your site and news letter. It has helped me get things cleaned up, out and organized.

So to share info with you - I am a Canon camera person. I shoot with a 30D for my hobby. But it's a lot to lug around on vacation what with lens and other equipment. Plus it's expensive.(just to add - the Canon Rebel is also a good camera if you want an SLR) For our vacations, family occasions and such I use a Canon S3. It's compact but it has full features, does great videos, and it's in a good price range.

I also have a Canon A70 (older camera) that is a die hard pocket camera that I still use (this is the one that I carry all the time - just in case)

[Trish]

I take over 20,000 photos a year and I have been extremely happy with my digital Sony Cybershot DSC-T200 that offers 5X zoom and a full back touch screen. It has lots of cool features (fisheye, monocrome, blurring the background, etc.)
Trish

[Laurie]

Maria,

I have always found that the best bargains (for quality places) in hotels are not found on the internet, but in those little "travel" magazines that are free at most rest stops, convenience stores and "Cracker Barrel" restaurants. They are broken doen by area of particular cities and states and give price info as well as lising all amenities in each ad. We have found our favorites through these guides for years!

Also, my birthday present, a 8-megapixel 10X zoom Fuji was only $169.00 at Radio Shack. Best camera I have ever owned, although I must admit, I am only beginning to touch the surfa ce of all it can do...may take years to try all of the "features".

So what kind of camera did you get? Keep up the good work with the blogs etc>>>

[Shell]

Hi,
BEFORE you buy a digital, think of how you will be processing your images. Printing them at home, local pharmacy or photo store? The answer makes a huge difference.

Images printed at home can fade from home printed photos in as little as three months (ink jet photos don't heat set nor use silver to set images). The CDs that many of us have our photos imbedded on figuring they will last a life time, last about 10 years, if they are good quality CDs. With the rush to digital, I cooled my heels and did research. I want my photos to be around for my grandchildren and beyond. My family had a reunion 10 years ago. We used photos that were over a hundred years old to get reprints from as we didn't have the negatives. Now the seven branches of my Dad's family all have copies of family pictures that sat in one album and these will be around for a hundred more years.

Long and short of it, I would choose a SLR 35mm film camera. If you need to take action pictures, use a higher speed film, 800+.

While I have a Canon Rebel which I love dearly, I also have a Chinon (no longer available) and my daughter's inexpensive Kodak takes pictures that are just as clear as my Rebel. My polaroid and digital are retired.